Angus Gunn on why he joined Southampton, following in dad Bryan’s footsteps – and leaving Pep Guardiola’s Man City

Angus Gunn had not always intended to follow in his father’s footsteps. The son of Bryan Gunn, the former Norwich City and Scotland goalkeeper, he had initially dreamed of forging a new footballing path for his family. “When I was growing up, I used to play outfield and score goals,” he says.

But young Angus soon learned that you simply can’t fight fate. He was eight years old, trialling at Norwich, when another of the boys went down with an injury. “I went in goal, and ever since then I have been a goalkeeper,” he says. “It just naturally happened. One of the coaches probably said I was better in goal than out on the field. These things happen — and it has turned out really well.”

It certainly has. Fourteen years later, Gunn is one of the British game’s most promising young goalkeepers, a regular for England’s youth teams and, as of this summer, a £13.5 million signing for Southampton.

After joining Manchester City in 2011, at the age of 15, Gunn’s breakthrough came last season, when he was loaned to Norwich and played every game in the Championship. The pressure of being his father’s son — Bryan played 390 matches for Norwich — had no impact on his performances, and in May he was invited to join England’s pre-World Cup training camp.